Author Archives: yeagerturner

Google Me

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Google Me

April-08-1My friends and I have fallen in love with Google.  We have been able to find out some of the most interesting/odd things (some of which are inappropriate for OnyxLouisville eyes!)  I personally have learned the best way to bake a sweet potato, how many ounces are in a gallon and signs that I have termites in my house.  I also sometimes Google myself just to see what all comes up.

Google has been exceptionally helpful in researching men.  Very rarely does a guy approach me while out on the weekends.  Once over the winter holiday, I went to a party thrown by one of the promoters.  There was this tall, sexy guy standing in the corner so I went to take his picture for the website.  We started talking and he tells me his name is Jackson Brown.  He reinforces that it should be easy to remember since that is two last names.  Cool.  We keep talking and he tells me that he lives in AL, just graduated from BAMA (young dude) and he is here with his family celebrating because he got a tryout with the NY Yankees baseball team. Great, I think to myself, best of luck with the tryout.  He asks for my number and I give it to him.  (I rarely take a guy’s number.  I believe if he is truly interested in you, he’ll make the effort to call)

Well, he calls as he leaves the club and he seems like a nice guy.  He also calls the next day while I’m at the gym, so I call him back.  He doesn’t answer.  But, his voicemail picks up – “You’ve reached the voicemail of Cedric Atchison.”  Huh?  That’s not the name he gave me.  That’s not even close.  So, I instantly put my fingers to work and Google both names.  I first look up “Jackson Brown baseball”.  Nothing.   I then lookup “Cedric Atchison baseball”.  Still nothing.  Finally I look up just “Cedric Atchison” and there he is on his fraternity’s webpage grinning with the boys.  It turns out he didn’t go to BAMA, but a smaller school in Alabama and that he never excelled at the sport of baseball.

Then my phone rings again – it’s him.  I ask him why his message says one thing but he told me another.  He then comes up with a LAME excuse saying Jackson is his middle name and he recently reunited with his father and took his father’s last name of Smith. Wow!  That was some serious lying.  It seemed like he thought we were in Las Vegas and I was Boo-Boo the Fool.  He called several times afterwards but I’d already realized that he and I were at two different places in life.

The point of this story:  It’s Derby baby!  Folks are coming from all over the nation.  Have fun.  Be careful.  Fall in love.  Don’t drink and drive.  Do one dance for me.  Be loved. Let Google be your friend. Smile for my pictures.  And remember – Louisville is only so big .  DO IT DERBY!!!

*pic is from last week’s fashion show.  You missed a great event!

M.Y. April 2008

It Could Be You

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‘It Could Be You’

Imagine this:  You’re young.  You’re beautiful.  You’re in love.  You are pregnant with your second child.  You notice that you’re having different side effects from this pregnancy than with your first.  You go to the doctor for advice.  The doctor suggests to run some tests. Fine, no problem.  A couple of weeks later they call with the results.  You’re HIV positive.  What?!!!  This can’t be.  You start running through your mind wondering how it could have happened and who could have given it to you.  Unfortunately, there were only two possible people – one was a result of sexual assault and the other passed away the year before.  You’ll never know.

After accepting the reality, you realize there is someone else that needs to know – your boyfriend.  Will he run as fast as he can?  With your family’s support, you sit down to tell him the news.  What does he do?  He says, ‘I love you regardless and still want to spend the rest of my life with you’.  The two of you get married the next week.  You test both of your children and both come out negative.  So does your husband.  Fast forward several years and you are having your third child.  She’s your bundle of joy but something doesn’t seem right.  She throws up her formula and always seems sick.  You know in your gut what’s wrong.  Your third baby has tested positive for HIV.

The next couple of years are a struggle.  The emotions of dealing with the HIV of you and your daughter has taken its toll emotionally and you must give up one of your prized possessions  – the successful daycare you own.  You’ve been blessed to not have too many side effects over the years but you still constantly deal with the reality.  You love your husband and are grateful that he’s stayed by your side.  However, you also hate that you can’t be the intimate lover that you feel he deserves.

This is Sharon’s story. I met her recently and just by looking at her you never would have known her story.  I was introduced to her by JacQue White who works at the House of Ruth.  The House of Ruth is an agency that helps those affected with HIV and/or AIDS by providing them a plethora of resources.  Unfortunately, the number of those affected in the black community continues to grow and the resources available continue to decrease.  Savvy Innovations is having a Fashion Show this weekend to raise funds for the House of Ruth.  If you can’t attend the show, they are in desperate need of toiletries and financial resources.  Please call JacQue: 587-5050 for information on how you can get involved.

M.Y.  April 2008

A 6-foot dilemma

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A 6-foot dilemma

I had my second figure competition last weekend in Cleveland.  There was drama with the airline trying to fly out of Louisville so I started to second guess if I really should have been making the trip.  There were twice as many ladies in my figure class (14).  I sent my friends a text message in the afternoon excitedly letting them know that I’d been tested for drugs.  They asked if that was a good thing.  I explained that this was a natural competition, meaning – no drugs, steroids or diuretics allowed.  To be tested meant I placed in the top five.

Fast forward to the night show.  First place in Class B – Michelle Yeager!  Hey,that’s me!  And with the first place finish came a 6-foot trophy.  Wow!  This thing was big.  I was amazed at its size and honored to receive it.  As I left the competition at 11:30 that evening, I realized I had a big problem.  HOW AM I GOING TO TRAVEL WITH THIS 6 FT THING?  As I put the trophy into my 2-door rental car, I accidentally broke the top off the trophy – so now I only had a 5-foot trophy!  I called Southwest to see if they would let me travel with it (my flight left at 8:30am on Sunday).  NOPE!  Can I check it in?  Nope, it’s too fragile.  Can Cargo take it?  Maybe, but hold on, they are closed on Sundays.  What’s a girl to do?  Where there’s a will, there has to be a way!

My friend, Jeff, lived in the area and I woke his butt up at 6:00am to ask for some tools to take the trophy apart.  His bachelor pad was absolute chaos and even if he had the tools, there was no telling where they would be.  I asked if they had a 24-Walmart so I could go and buy the part.  There was one, but it was too far away.  Home Depot didn’t open until 8.  Crap, crap, crap.  I need to get this trophy home!!!  Just as I get online to look into renting a car and just driving myself and the 6 (now 5) foot trophy home, Jeff found the tool to take it all apart – just in time for me to rush to the airport.

I arrived safely back in Louisville and although tired, spent the next two hours trying to put this trophy (and all its little parts) back together, including super gluing on the broken lady on the top.  I looked at the trophy in amazement, but then had another positive dilemma – Where am I going to put this thing?!!!!

M.Y.  April 2008

Randomness

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“Randomness”

1. Thank you, thank you, thank you.  You are a truly a blessing with all of your kind words from my competition.  To have complete strangers stop me on the street and say ‘wonderful job’ gives me a great sense of pride for the Louisville community.  You’ve inspired me to keep up what I’m doing (although at a slower pace) and it was wonderful to hear that others are now setting their own personal goals.

2. Two words – TAR HEELS (men and women)!!!  Big props, though, to Angel McCoughtry of the Lady Cards – she is one talented athlete!

3. Do you remember those Mexican pizzas they used to serve in elementary school?  They were in the shape of an octagon and usually on served on Fridays?

4. Is your foot the same length as your forearm between your elbow and the bottom of your palm? Mine is!

5.  Ramon Ponder is not my boyfriend.  Since I’m always the one behind the camera taking pictures of people at parties, he graciously poses with me at every party so I too can be in a group shot.  Boyfriend – no;  good friend – yes!
6. If psychics are really psychic, why do they ask you your name and birthdate? Shouldn’t they already know that?

7.The average person strives to eat 1000-1500 calories a day.  These McDonald foods have the following calories: Big Mac 540, five Chicken Breast Strips 670, Deluxe Breakfast 1070, Triple Chocolate Shake 1160!

8. Did you notice there is no 14th Street off Broadway?  Why is the Extreme Skate Park Open 24 hour a day but no basketball courts are?

9. Why do some many white cars have chipped paint?

10. LOL – is that “laugh out loud’ or “lots of love”.  If you tell someone you love him/her and he/she says LOL, it’s important to know which one it is!

*this column is a result of being carb deprived while doing cardio at 6 in the morning*

M.Y. April 2008

Eight Weeks of Training

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“Eight Weeks of Training”

Mar08-1For the past eight weeks I have been training for a figure competition.  I gave up all of my favorite foods: pasta, sausage, cheese, bread, fruit, and desserts.  My meals consisted only of chicken/sirloin or fish, brown rice, egg whites and vegetables, vegetables and more vegetables and protein shakes.  Nothing else for 8 weeks with five meals a day.  I also found myself at the gym more – six days a week.  Some days of training required morning cardio so I found myself dragging to the gym at 5 in the morning.  Yes, five in the morning for a two hour workout.  The worst was probably the water.  The final week of prep had me drinking 2 GALLONS of water a day.  I was running (not walking) to the bathroom every 30 minutes.

I noticed physical changes throughout the entire process.  While my weight didn’t change, by body fat decreased by 5% and I lost two inches in both my hips and waist.  I also gained muscle and overall looked more tone.  I had to give up a lot of things, including dating.  I wasn’t able to go out to eat at restaurants and although I could do movies, the smell of popcorn drove me crazy.  Not only that, but after work and working out, all I felt like doing when I came home was eating and then sleeping.  It really was all about me during this time.

My first competition was this past Saturday in Covington. My goal was Top Five in my height category. There were over 100 women entered and at first I was intimidated by everyone. You immediately start sizing yourself compared to others.  The more I looked at others, though, the more I realized that I looked as good, if not better than many.  I felt more at ease. There were six height classes and I was in the 2nd shortest (figures)!   Being on stage in front of the judges was glorious.  I’ve grown up performing in front of others and the surge of energy is amazing. As they start giving out awards for my class, I realize I have a great chance of winning – and I did!!! First place, which qualifies me for nationals, what a thrill! (and the pizza I ate while driving home was so tasty!)

I’m still on cloud nine and it’s not only for winning.  I set a goal and saw it through.  I found myself cooking a week’s worth of food every Sunday and going down grocery aisles that only healthy people stroll.  I pushed myself physically. I stayed focused, surrounded myself with positive people and resisted temptation at every corner.  Only time shall tell what my figure future holds!  Click here for the complete blog.

M.Y. March 2008

In Memory of Static

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“In memory of Static”

Earlier this week, Static Major (Steve Garrett) passed away.  I last saw Steve in December at the Goodtimers party (click on link to view photo album). He was a blessing to the music world, although most of his claim to fame was behind the scenes.  I was always proud of his group Playa because they represented Louisville.  I was especially proud of Steve because he represented my high school – Waggener High School.

I remember when I was a senior in college in North Carolina.  It was a random day and I was listening to the radio.  The DJ talked about this new group that was in the area that would be opening for Dru Hill.  The group was Playa.  I instantly dialed into the station and asked her if I could speak to them.  The DJ seemed pretty shocked that I even knew who they were.  I told her I went to middle and high school with two of them.  She asked the name of the high school and put me on hold.

A couple of minutes later she’s airing live and asks Playa what they know about Waggener High School.  Since they were on a North Carolina radio station, they seemed caught off guard by the question.  She then puts me into the conversation and we sit and talk live for a lengthy time on the radio about Louisville, them sneaking backstage at the Jodeci concert to be noticed and all of their success.  After we got off the air, they invited my friends and I to their concert that night.  We met them at the hotel, hung out with them for awhile, and then received the royal treatment at the concert.

Who would have imagined that Steve would also go on to write so many famous lyrics? Ginuwine’s “Pony” and “So Anxious”, Aaliyah’s “Try Again” and “More Than a Woman”, Destiny Child’s “Say My Name”, Truth Hurt’s “Addictive”, Brandy’s “Come As You Are”, Diddy’s “Tell Me” and Pretty Ricky’s “On the Hotline” and other songs never would have existed without the mastermind of Louisville’s own Steve (Static Major) Garrett.  I listened to B96.5 on the radio on Tuesday and they did an awesome tribute to him and played a great deal of his songs. I was supposed to leave work at 5:00 that, but stayed almost an hour over to keep listening because his hits kept playing.  We all want to leave our mark on this world and Steve did his thang!!